bco2874359

I'm betwixted on this glove for 1 simple, but important reason--sizing. I have the Heli in size 11. It's a warm, comfy, and awesome glove and each finger/thumb has a 1/2 fingernail pinch of extra space to provide that little bit of needed room for airlock and comfort. So...

I order the SM in size 11 and you would think I have size 10. Very snug, which is OK on the perimeter around palm, but the spacing on fingers, especially middle, fore, and thumb is right to the bitter end. It feels too small--and I don't have super huge hands, either.

I have no issue with the quality, it is suburb (and the look on the forest/lime is, pardon me, sublime). 5 stars on quality/design. But the inconsistency of fit for size 11 Heli and the SM is wrong. Maybe I got the odd day glove?

I've worn the glove 2 days skiing and the only saving grace for me was wiping my nose run with the glove whilst on the lift (apologies for that visual), but that did loosen up the leather enough to stretch out the shorter fingers a bit to make the glove workable for me. But I shouldn't need to do that...I wish the glove had the consistency of fit as the Heli (even if one has a removable liner and the other does not---it shouldn't matter).

I think if you are a Hestra size 10 or below, you will love this glove as you will find a size that works for you no problem...and as noted, it is an awesome quality glove. But, if you are on the edge of size 11, be prepared for a *potentially* tight glove that is going to impact your warmth due to lack of space around tips of fingers.

My .02

PS...as others have noted about the zipper design change, the photos here do not reflect the '10 model. The pics here show a chunkier Vislon style zipper teeth, where the newer model has a very narrow profile Arc'teryx-esk like YKK zipper. It's nice. Maybe a bit overkill. I fear the pull is going to break as it's a snug zip up/zip down. But, so you know, that's the new zipper.

A really nice, stiff, pole :) BUT...when using with a Hestra Heli Ski glove (XL), I find the grip a little small. I hate the straps and removed altogether. To fit on my hand/glove, you have to adjust the strap to nearly it's widest setting and the design is not well suited to that adjustment - it leaves a lot of exposed velcro, which is constantly entangling on exposed velcro on gloves, jacket wrists, etc. Annoying.

Going strapless and happier for it.

First, let me say how impressed I was with backcountry.com I ordered these gloves at 11pm on a Wednesday night and received confirmation the next day that the order was processed and shipped at 12:30am the following morning - they arrived as expected on Friday just in time to test this weekend at a very cold Killington which due to high winds had many lifts shut down all morning.

These gloves are very, very nice and I'm extremely happy with them. Can't speak for how well they do in wet conditions, but in bitter, windy cold, I had no problems.

The details and quality are impeccable. The inner fleece liner is secured at the wrist with a full circumference strip of velcro. A small carabiner connects the two gloves at a brass eyelet - no worries of cheap plastic connectors breaking under cold/duress. For me personally, the school kid-like wrist bands were my favorite feature. I'm constantly taking my gloves off at different points skiing down a trail to snap pictures of my kids, and having the ability to quickly pull off a glove to fish out a camera without fear of dropping and losing a glove is nice peace of mind.

The goat leather is very soft and supple. I think this could be reworked with a tougher leather. Hestra clearly states on the tag that ski/board edges are sharp and be careful handling with the gloves as you can cut the leather - this concerned me every time I picked up the skis, especially when scrambling around to get them secured on a gondola. I didn't get any rips/tears, but I can see it happening.

Lastly, I must advise that when I measured my hand size out, the XL (10) was pretty spot on with measurements coming in ever so slightly below what they called out for size. Having used the gloves for a full day, I think they are a bit too small and have already ordered up the next size up. My hands were comfy, they were warm, but at 3:30pm with the sun starting to dip, my fingers started getting pretty cold on the lift (everyone's were), but I attribute some of that to the fact that my glove was maybe just a bit too snug. I like a little more airspace. Depending on how you like to wear your gloves and the temperature conditions you are going to be in, if you come out nearly on top of the size that fits your hand, you might want to jump up a size.

Bottomline - yes, you can get a similarly functioning (and excellent) glove from Cabellas, but for overall form, function, and sharp, clean design, this glove is very, very, nice.